Mesmer and mystery
by Macabre-Melody
Summary: Maia finds a mysterious ring that holds within it an immense power. Unknown to her, however, the ring is evil and is intent on causing her misfortune;somewhere in Japan Suzune senses a powerful force...will he be able to recall his history and defeat evil
1. Prologue

0.o Prologue 0.o

They say there is a beginning to everything.

And an end.

But what if everything is repeated, like a circle, never ending, continuing, forever and ever and ever. Where would you say is the beginning, or the end? Is there one?

Though wise beyond our years, it is a question I or any of my other acquaintances have not been able to comprehend.

If everyone knew the answer to everything, would people have adventures?

Tell me; if you knew that the yellow sweet in your pocket had been poisoned by an evil aunt, would you eat it?

I guess not.

Life is full of challenges and it's up to us to overcome them. We make mistakes so that the next generation can learn from them.

Mistakes are not unforgivable; they are a part of life; and life is for making mistakes.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is treasure and hold on to what you have to let go.

Life is never forever, no matter how much we want it.

Because death is inevitable no matter how much you don't want it.

And trying to evade it will cause unbalance and distort the stability of Earth and life on it.

Nevertheless, people seek after ancient magics that provide us with immortality, power-crazed and hungry for control, they are steadfast in their goal, although conscious of the penalty.

A fate worse than torture in hell, unimaginable horror awaits those who meddle with the unknown.

No-body in their right mind would desire it, which is why the people who do, are not in their right mind.

Obviously.

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**Okay, boring prologue but the actual story isn't like this (I hope!!) so please, please, please, please, please read on!!!!**

**And if its not asking to much of you, please review too, its nice to know what you think of my boring work……**


	2. Chapter 1

0.o Chapter 1 o.0

Maia wandered through the town that was once her home. Heavy, black fumes rose from the ground, curling around her body like a snake and enveloping her in a cloud of smoke. Coughing as the putrid gas made its way into her lungs; she searched for an escape route. But the only place in the entire town that wasn't ablaze was the river and there was no way to reach it.

Maia was surrounded, left, right and centre by an inferno of flames, hungrily devouring anything in its path.

All the homes that people once lived in: the historic buildings, the offices and many more, were gone, swallowed up and then spat out in ashes. Maia was in hopeless situation and she knew it. She also knew that it was partly her fault that she was in the position she was in now.

She hadn't expected anything to happen that day.

She woke up before everyone as usual, ate breakfast and then went to school. The weather had been bad. The sun and the sky were barely visible under the angry grey clouds; it was clear that it would soon rain. Nevertheless, Maia's overenthusiastic P.E teacher still made them run laps around the court, much to the dismay of the pupils.

'You kids today are too lazy! In my day we would always be running around…chasing cats and putting pin tacks on our teachers chair…' their sensei's eyes would glitter as he remembered his past.

' not like the children nowadays, all you do now is sit and play computer games and go on websites like _Metube_ or _goggle_!'

Maia allowed herself a small smile as she recalled this memory, after all, these might be her last moments.

She pulled her self back into her mind, back to the precious few moments before everything went wrong.

Her sensei stood them in a straight line before scrutinising them carefully; it was his usual routine of making sure everyone had brought in the right kit.

"You boy, where are your trainers?" he would bark at his poor victims

"And you, you haven't even bothered to change at all!!"

Unfortunately Maia had been among those who had neglected to abide by the strict uniform code. She, along with five other students had been sent to the science lab to complete countless chores as punishment.

She wasn't to know it yet but it was from then on that Maia's day had started its turn into the nightmare it was now.

"Ohhh, sensei is really evil making us _walk_ all the way to the other side of the building to clean up! Can't the school afford a caretaker or something? We're not slaves! This is like child abuse, mark my words I'm gonna tell my daddy about this!" Viola stamped her foot in fury while everyone else rolled their eyes.

Viola was a pampered, rich girl that had transferred to their school just that year and ever since her first day, she had been ignored and treated as a hindrance, which of course, she was.

Maia ignored Viola and everyone else and carried on making her way toward the labs, she had a funny feeling in her stomach, almost as if her body knew something she didn't and was trying to tell her about it. Whatever it was, Maia wanted to get everything out of the way so she could rest.

She was dusting the top of a high shelf when she heard an excited voice exclaim,

"Hey, look at what I found!" one of Maia's classmates held up a ring, a small green jewel glittered in the slowly fading sunlight of the evening. A gasp escaped from Maia's lips. It was black, with intricate gothic patterns engraved in the metal, but what caught her attention the most was the stunning green stone set in it. The colour was too subtle, too deep, too extraordinary to be called an unadorned name like green, there was something special about it, the very same feeling she had earlier returned but this time it was more desperate. It was clawing at her heart, influencing it and urging it.

She heard a voice whisper in her ear, in a low hoarse voice,

"Wouldn't you give everything for your hearts desire?"

Maia jumped. Where had the voice come from? Nevertheless, that was insignificant to her at the moment, the voice was right. She was going to get that ring.

"Let me see it, please!!" anxious voices called out, begging for a chance to hold it. The boy in possession of the ring held it out of reach, in the hope of holding the pleading students off.

Maia saw the events that followed in slow motion.

She saw herself, totally mesmerised by the ring, jumping over a table, her hands closing over thin air as the boy dodged. She saw her skirt snag on a hook as tumbled down and an unknown pupil's elbow narrowly missing her face but consequently smashing into the row of full conical flasks some idiot had left on the table-top, (obviously Viola) and last of all she saw the boy drop the ring in surprise before the entire room burst into flame.

She couldn't remember exactly how she had escaped; only that she had run frantically until she had found shelter, with the frightened screams of children, echoing through the halls. She recalled the fire brigade arriving all too late, With the school was no longer standing and the fire quickly spreading to nearby houses and trees.

She had thought that she was lucky, until she remembered her mother, alone in hospital with her new born sister. They too would become victims if she didn't reach them in time to warn them but alas, Maia's luck was against her. Her leg had been trapped under a heavy tree branch. As to when it had fallen and why she hadn't felt it was a mystery but the amount of agony it was bringing her now was not. She pushed it as hard as her small body would let her, until her hands bled with the effort and little splinters dug into her palms. She assured herself in a croaky voice, choked with dry sobs; sounding so very unlike herself it frightened her.

"Anything is possible if you try!"

Which is true if what you are trying isn't _im_possible, like flying to the moon and back on a rocket powered skate board or trying to push a whooping great big tree trunk off your leg that just happens to be five times your own weight.

Maia was trying the impossible and after a few half-hearted shoves, she gave up and fell into a listless, uneasy sleep. A retirement from the cruelty and sorrow of the world.

She woke up feeling no better than she had before, although she hadn't been expecting anything to have happened, she was slightly downhearted and slightly frustrated.

Why? She thought.

Her leg which had hurt quite a bit previously, gave her almost unbearable pain now. Unable to stand anymore, Maia mustered all her strength and gave the trunk restraining her leg an almighty heave. Astonishingly, the trunk slid off her leg with ease. Maia was free but not completely. The fire still had not died out and was hungrily prowling the streets that once were. Fiery embers glittered, as if they were eyes seeking out prey.

As if challenging her patience, a large chunk of wall detached its self from the rest of a building and plummeted down, the flying debris missing her by inches.

It was as if this sudden disruption had caused the fire to attack with all the more ferocity. The flames burst forth, through the break in the façade, racing towards her with much more speed than she could have ever imagined.

It was not like her to panic in bad situations but this was definitely worse than bad.

"NO! This can't be happening, I can't die, I can't!!" she cried out, retching as she breathed in too deeply the acrid smell of smouldering rubble. It was a sign that the end was near.

In a desperate attempt to evade fate, she scrabbled through the dusty debris and soot that coated the ground to find anything that would help her, but alas she found no such thing. By now the smog was so thick, nothing but darkness could be seen. Maia dropped to her knees, only wincing slightly with the pain, and closed her eyes. 'It's all my fault' she whispered, before the smoke clouded her brain and her world went black.

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**Only one thing to say: REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!!!!!**


	3. Chapter 2

I just want to let you know that from now on, anything in _italics_ is a flashback/ a memory.

0.o Chapter 2 o.0

It was another grey and lifeless day in Suzune's life. The sky could barely be seen hidden behind the gloomy, dark clouds that looked as if it was going to relieve its self any second. The wind howled mercilessly through the trees, and the leaves that had long left their branches now resided in various places including under park benches and in Suzune's hair.

It had been two years since the tragic death of his parents. He had never quite gotten over it. Along with their loss, he had also lost his happiness, his motivation, his reason for living and himself.

Although, the presence of his almost-but-not-quite-sister, Himeka had prevented him from loosing all sanity. He was very lucky he still had her, if it weren't for his parent's courage and perseverance the whole world would have changed, for the worse.

"Suzune? Umm, are you going to put the flowers down or stand here all day?" a familiar voice whispered behind him. Himeka placed a hand on his shoulder and gently pulled a leaf out of his hair.

"Huh? Oh, yeah…" Suzune snapped out of his reverie and carefully tied the bouquet of roses onto a metal railing with a piece of string he had brought with him.

They looked almost unreal; the petals were so delicate and smooth, almost like velvet with little drops of dew clinging on to the edges of the flower, shimmering like diamonds. It was glorious Technicolor in a black and white world.

But they did not have time to waste, it was apparent that it was going to rain soon and they certainly did not want to be caught in it.

Himeka closed her eyes and muttered a silent prayer for her parents with Suzune following suit. They were in their own world now and nothing could distract them.

They didn't even notice the wind die down and the clouds slowly edge ebb away, the sunlight shyly peeking through the gaps and smiling at the children that had come out to enjoy its company. Joyful laughter and screams of delight filled the park, dogs barking and the repetitive thwack of a ball being hurled back and forth between two rackets.

Himeka open her eyes and glanced over at Suzune. His expression was one she hadn't seen for a long time; it was one of calm and serenity.

She smiled and thought that it didn't seem like it was going to be a bad day after all.

Like every other weekend, Himeka had set of to work and Suzune was left at home alone. He didn't usually mind (though it didn't matter whether he minded or not, Himeka had to go work anyway),but today he was feeling slightly uneasy. It was as if he knew something was going to happen; only he couldn't tell what it was.

It was strange but he had experienced the same feeling before...Two years ago, at least an hour prior to the accident that had been the cause of his parent's death.

_Suzune skidded across the kitchen fl__oor and crashed into the counter, spilling the contents of a cut. His mother scolded him for being clumsy, but she wasn't being serious. She was in an extremely happy mood because today was the day she had met her husband, Suzune's father. It was their anniversary and they were going out that day to an expensive restaurant._

_Suzune __was going to be left at home with a sitter, which he was not happy about._

_The morning slowly faded into evening __and the house suddenly burst into life as if a switch had been flicked on. Suzune watched avidly as the maids scurried around with various things for their mistress. _

_Not long after, Suzune found himself left at home alone with a __sitter that happened to be on some sort of gossip marathon._

_"That's not what I heard…it was something about…. __That's no reason to be so bitchy with each other!"_

_Small bits of a conversation drifted through the house and mixed themselves up in Suzune's mind. It hadn't been long since his parents had left but Suzune was already missing them. It was odd, they went out often and Suzune hadn't really been bothered then but this time…_

_The area near his stomach was feeling funny, as if he had just come off a roller-coaster or a very rocky boat. He ignored it for the time being._

_He stared at the wall, utterly bored out of his mind.__ He was still staring at the wall an hour later when his abdomen gave a jolt that almost threw him to the floor, or rather that was how it felt like to him._

_A blue streak of light flashed across the wall, so fast he almost missed it. But it had definitely been there._

_The sound of tyres juddering over __uneven tarmac and the almost inaudible 'ping' of the doorbell jolted him awake. The doorbell rang again, but Suzune was in no hurry to get the door. He had a bad feeling and it had something to do with whoever was waiting at the door. He stood behind his door and took a deep breath, counting the amount of doorbell rings. 'Three…….four……five' he muttered willing the person to just go away. To his surprise, he heard the door open without his assistance. He had forgotten that his sitter was capable of something other than talking._

_He flew down the stairs, although before his feet had even touched solid ground, before he'd seen the stricken look on the sitter's face or the uniform of the tall grim faced officer at the door he knew. _

_That his parents were gone._

Suzune wiped off the tears that were streaming down his face. He had always tried to forget, so it wouldn't be so painful, but somehow the memory was always pushing itself into his mind. The fact that he'd never see their faces again or hear their voices. He'd never feel his mother's warm touch when she embraced him or the joyful way she laughed when his father ran, screaming away from insects.

He shook his head. What was he thinking? He needed to concentrate on something else and yet here he was, getting completely distracted!

To ease his uneasiness Suzune paced the corridors of his house, yet it did not seem to make any difference. It was exactly like _that_ day.

Something was afoot, he didn't know what but he was going to find out.

The warm weather was drawing out everyone into the streets. It had been a long time since the sun had shined and they were going to make the most of it. Suzune too, would have loved to laze about and enjoy the weather but his conscience wouldn't let him. While he was pacing the corridors he had come to realise that the sensation would become stronger or weaker according to his position. With much thought, he believed that the direction the sensation as at its strongest was the way to the park. That's where he was heading now.

Luckily for him it wasn't far, although he wouldn't have minded even if it was. He was determined to find out what it was that was causing him so much discomfort.

A ball whizzed past in his direction but he made no attempt to stop it, he was almost there. The tall verdant trees that lined the park towered towards the sky were clearly visible and the wide rusty Iron Gate hung wide open, inviting him in.

With all the excitement, Suzune hadn't noticed the pain. The tingly sensation he had felt before had warped into convulsions. He tried to smother the pain by bending over but it made hardly, if any difference.

But he had to go on.

Making it past the gate Suzune valiantly carried on.

_'This had better be worth it_he thought


	4. Chapter 3

I'm really, really, really sorry that I didn't get this up earlier but I was busy studying for a lot of tests…is there no escape from them?!! I'll try to get the next few chapters up quicker, although I'm not quite sure when the whole thing will complete…I expect this to end up with more than 40 chapters even though I know it'll kill me trying to write them while balancing other stuff. Its all for you, my darling readers, so please, please review so I know someone is reading my hard work!!

THANX FOR EVRYONE WHO HAS REVIEWED SO FAR. (2 people very nice ppl and 2 others that I happen to know by person TT)

0.o Chapter 3 o.0

The pain disappeared the instant he arrived, but what he had found did not relieve him.

_Okay__, not what I was expecting…_

_What was I expecting?!_

Suzune stared, his expression clearly one of disbelief.

Sprawled on the ground was a girl that looked like she had just escaped from hell. Her hair in a tattered mess, her skin smeared with black soot and blood and her clothes in tatters.

Suzune had dragged himself through the park, bearing pain that had almost killed him, to encounter_…this?_

This was absurd; it felt like he had been set up. But then again it had been his decision to come here in the first place. He had brought this upon himself.

Sighing, Suzune put one hand on his head and stared.

The girl groaned.

Suzune blinked. There were too many thoughts going through his head at the moment and he could make sense of any of them.

_What __was he supposed to do?_

_Was there a handbo__ok available somewhere entitled: 'What to do when you find a knocked-out stranger??_

While he had been panicking, he had failed to notice the girl regain consciousness.

"Ano...Where am I?" Suzune heard a small voice whisper behind him.

Startled, Suzune spun round quickly, tripped over a branch and fell, hitting the ground hard, very narrowly missing the girl.

Now he was groaning; the fall had _hurt_. He heard a stifled giggle from beside him; obviously someone found his pain amusing.

"Not funny!" Suzune growled at the girl, who immediately stopped laughing. He sat up and brushed the dirt off his clothes, "What are you doing here anyway? Don't tell me you were stupid enough to fall from the tree or something…." He trailed off as the girl's eyes broadened in shock. The girl scanned her hair, clothes and skin and gasped, as if she didn't know what state she was in, it was as if reality had only just hit her. Her shoulder was tense and her deep chocolate eyes that Suzune couldn't bring himself to turn away from were still open wide.

A light breeze blew around them, calming the girl down enough for her to speak.

"I...I don't know what I am doing here..." she began said slowly, turning herself to face Suzune properly, "but I'm hoping you might be able to help me…?"

Suzune was still enthralled by her eyes; there was something about them, something eerily entrancing. It was a colour with a hypnotising depth, like looking into an eternally continuous well with nothing at the bottom but a fusion of emotions, Sadness, horror, confusion and…anger?

Suzune raised an eyebrow.

"What makes you think I'm gonna help _you_?" he burst out.

He felt surprised when he heard himself; it wasn't in his nature to be angry (most of the time) especially to strangers, it just wasn't _him_. But he hadn't been himself since the beginning of the day.

The girl did not retaliate; she simply looked at him in mild surprise and turned away.

The next few minutes were spent in total silence, literally. The park was completely deserted even though Suzune clearly remembered seeing people playing outside before he entered the park. 'Odd', he thought but was too deep in thought to make anything out of it.

He had started to regret the rudeness he had displayed before; the poor girl looked like she needed help quite desperately and he hadn't treated her properly. His guilty conscience was nagging at him to apologise.

"Its OK" he heard the girl whisper. He turned to see that she was looking at him.

"Huh?" Suzune asked dumbfounded, had he missed something?

"I'm sorry that I asked you to help me, you don't even know me so don't apologise; it was my fault for getting you angry"

He didn't know what to say. So he said the first thing that came into his mind.

"You really need to get cleaned up and new clothes would help."

Shopping was not on Suzune's list of 'fun things to do' and it had almost killed him.

Maia (or something weird and foreign like that), had readily agreed to his 'shopping' request and had somehow induced him to trail after her while she browsed through the stocks of an incessant number of stores.

It had lasted for almost over 5 hours in which Suzune mostly stood by watching the bill on his credit card pile up. Utter torture.

Now they sat on a park bench watching the sun dip under the horizon, leaving a wispy trail of pink and orange trails in the sky. It was breathtaking; no matter how many times one would see it.

'I think I remember, but only a little bit. You know, like bits and pieces but exactly the picture. Sort of like a jigsaw." Maia's voice broke the silence that Suzune had been trying to enjoy. He sighed; she had not been able to keep her mouth shut ever since she had recovered.

_Just goes to show_ Suzune thought, _first impressions aren't always right. _

'I remember fire and all these really tall buildings, just collapsing right before my eyes! I remember me running really fast, although I don't think it's possible 'cause I _don't run_.' Maia put an emphasis on the words _don't_ and _run_ and sighed pensively. She uncurled a long black strand of hair from around her finger and shifted the weight of the innumerable amount of shopping bags further down her arm before continuing.

'I also remember my mum and the first time I held my baby sis', but I don't remember whether they had anything to do with the fire or not, I couldn't face it if anything happened to them…' her face clouded for a second before, ' oh! And there was this pretty ring, like, with a real emerald in it I think and really cool gothic swirly shapes on it. I really wish that I still had it!"

Suzune's head snapped round.

"A ring?" he whispered.

Maia looked pleased that he was finally paying attention and answered him.

"Yep, it was a really cool one too and everyone went craaazy over it, even me and I'm not even into jewellery that much"

Suzune frowned, his forehead creasing slightly giving him a slightly depressed look.

"You really shouldn't frown 'cause it's bad for your skin, you get wrinkles earlier than you normally should and plus it makes you look real old." Maia continued drivelling.

Suzune shook his head, he wasn't getting anywhere and it was getting on his nerves. _She_ was getting on his nerves and he needed to get rid of her quickly before he snapped.

He stood up, all set to leave the girl behind when he heard the sound of something dropping. And a gasp from Maia.

Something rolled down and stopped abruptly at his feet. He let out a slow whistle; it wasn't big or small in particular, it wasn't made of some sort of precious metal, it was the dazzling azure glow that emitted from the large, well cut chrysoprase. (A/N: Chrysoprase: bright green quartz/a bright green variety of chalcedony, used as a gemstone. I have no clue what a chalcedony is and I can't be bothered to find out. Sorry!)

It had an other-worldly feel to it, nothing in this world could compare to the overwhelming sense of power it radiated.

He felt a sudden urge to reach down and place it on his finger. Bending down Suzune reached for the ring, his fingers slowly closing around it. He brought his hand up to behold the unexpected treasure only to find nothing but thin air. Somehow he had missed it, but how? He was sure that it had been right there, in front of him.

Suzune scanned the area, the path was clear and it couldn't have rolled into some bushes because there weren't any nearby. There was only the park bench that was drowning under a mountain of shopping but it hadn't gone there either because Maia would have seen it and told him surely?

But what if she had kept it for herself, after all that's what she had tried to do back where she had come from. There was no question about it; she had it, _the sneaky little..._

"Suzune?" He flinched at the use of his first name, "You okay? You seem a little…tense." Maia asked concerned.

"Where the hell did you put it, you witch!" Suzune thundered his eyes laced with anger and malice.

Maia stood back, her face clearly displaying her emotions. She was scared and what's more, she was scared of _him_. He was finally getting some respect.

"P…put what?" Maia stuttered slowly edging away from him.

"The damn ring! You think you're so clever snatching it away from me with your sad tricks but I know you've got it so hand it over!" Suzune felt the fire roar inside him and it felt good.

"I haven't got it! I was sitting here all this time!! I swear!" She replied flustered, she searched for an exit and finding one she edged towards it.

"Don't' act all innocent, who else could have taken it? You talked about the ring as if it was something special to you; I saw it in your eyes! You're evil, stay away from me!"

Maia gave Suzune a look that could kill, spun round on her heels and ran away from him.

He watched her go with a triumphant smile plastered on his face.

_**Well, that went well…**__**you have power and pride…**_

_huh?_

Suzune shook his head to clear it and looked around confusedly.

_What the heck just happened? Did I just go loony and yell at Maia?_

_Why can't I remember any of it? What happened?_

He paced up and down the path trying to recall his memory.

He was too wound up to notice the dark hulking figure creep out from behind a tree and pursue Maia.


End file.
